Red Hollow and Moccasin Mountain

August 1
Day Off #1

A question from our friend Linda led us to research Red Cave and Red Hollow, both near Orderville.  Red Hollow sounded more in line with our limited canyoneering skills so it went on the agenda for this week's days off.  

The directions to the trailhead, less than 40 minutes from Kanab, are straight-forward and the final, unpaved stretch is a short, easy drive.  A half-mile walk up the wash toward the Elkheart Cliffs east of Zion leads to the mouth of the slot and a lot of fun crammed into six-tenths of a mile.  Small puddles remaining from the recent storms marked the halfway point then came several obstacles to climb over, slither around or stem above.  At the next to last blockage, a family of four caught up with us.  The dad grew up in the area and remembered the slot from 30 years ago.  A rope which used to help hikers ascend the 25' dryfall broke years ago and now only a frayed, two-foot long tail hangs from the top.  Exploring mini-slots and tributary washes on the way back to the Jeep was almost as enjoyable as doing the main passage so we vowed  to return to investigate even more of the area.

First Obstacle

 A Little Rock Hopping

Some Squirming

Three Point Contact Required

End of Slot



Small Side Slot Canyon

 



We stopped at Soup Town in Orderville for a wonderful lunch--soup, sandwich and yummy berry pie a la mode--with a side of history.  The building had been the tiny town's general store.  After standing vacant for several decades, half is now the café and the other side is the town's museum.  The waitress recommended Spring Hollow slot canyon, a few miles north on Highway 89, and provided a contact for permission to cross the intervening private property.

The second destination for today was the Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Tracksite near Pink Coral Sands State Park.  Warnings about the road's deep sand and steep slopes are somewhat exaggerated although a high-clearance 4WD vehicle is necessary.  The BLM's brochure isn't as helpful as it could be and we went about a quarter mile in the wrong wash.  By the time we found the right one, the clouds had darkened and the wind turned grains of sand into tiny, stinging missiles.  The walls and floor of the wash are Navajo sandstone, a dangerous place to be when lightning is a possibility.  We decided to postpone looking for the tracks until we had clear weather and better information about the location of the individual tracks.

 

Entrance to Dinosaur Track Protected Area